Biography

American lawyer, businessman and diplomat.

With a degree from Yale Law School, he began his career in the mid 1930s by teaching law at Duke University Law School. There, he met and and formed a lasting friendship with Richard Nixon. Rush subsequently worked for Union Carbide, becoming a Vice President in 1939. In 1966 he was named President of the company. In 1969 his diplomatic career began when he was appointed Ambassador to Germany. In 1972 he was named Deputy Secretary of Defense and the following year, his friend Richard Nixon, now President, named him Deputy Secretary of State. In 1974 he became Ambassador to France and held that position until he retired from service on March 15, 1977.

He married in 1947 and had six children, five sons and a daughter. Two of his sons pre-deceased him. He died December 11, 1994 in Delray Beach, FL.